My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Here, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on Him—and because of that, God had to “turn away” from Jesus. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing a separation from God for the only time in all of eternity. This was also a fulfillment of the prophetic statement in Psalm 22:1.

MATTHEW 27:45-46 (NASB)

45Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVEYOU FORSAKEN ME?”

Psalm 22:1-31 (NASB)

1My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.2O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.
3Yet You are holy,

O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.4In You our fathers trusted;
They trusted and You delivered them.
5To You they cried out and were delivered;

In You they trusted and were not disappointed.6But I am a worm and not a man,
A reproach of men and despised by the people.7All who see me sneer at me;

They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,8“Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.10Upon You I was cast from birth;

You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

11Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.
12Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.13They open wide their mouth at me,

As a ravening and a roaring lion.14I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax;

It is melted within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
16For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
17I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
18They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19But You, O LORD, be not far off;
O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
22I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23You who fear the LORD, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;

Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!
27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28For the kingdom is the LORD’S
And He rules over the nations.
29All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

Discussion:

  1. What does this passage mean to you? What ramifications does it have your perception on Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer?

  2. What do you feel when you read this passage?

  3. What has Jesus been feeling up unto this point in the day? What is he feeling now?READ Psalm 22 with the crucifixion in mind. (Below in Scripture Section)

  4. How do you feel about Christ's statement from the cross after reading Psalm 22?

  5. How do you relate with Psalm 22?

  6. Have you ever felt this alone? (Rhetorical question- Do you feel this alone now?)

  7. Have someone look up Hebrews 4:15. How does it feel to know that Christ can sympathize with our loneliness?

  8. Christ felt forsaken by His Father on the cross so that we never would. Christ died on the cross so that we could have right relationship with God.

    When you feel lonely, what do you do?

  9. Christ lived the life that we couldn't live and died the death that we deserve to die in order that we could live in right relationship with God for eternity.

    He died so that we might live in community with other believers and God.

    When you feel all alone, who is the community that you can run to?

  10. If you know someone who has never heard about a God who would come as man to live perfectly and die in their place, could you/would you share this story with him or her?

  11. If you know a Christian or a non-Christian who needs a positive community, how can you be that community for them

Prayer:

  • Pray for each other.

  • Pray for each other's one person who needs to hear the gospel.

  • Pray for each other to have courage to tell this gospel to his or hers one.

  • Pray for each other's person who needs to be brought into gospel community. Pray for one another.

Nick Bynumlast words of christ, hanging on every word